#BoycottNike Fake News Buster: Viral tweet of man setting fire to his shoes while wearing them is actually satire

Sometimes, there is no better way to fight a Twitter trend than with satire. But what happens when that satire is taken as truth by those who read it? One resident of Atlanta in the US found that out when his satirical tweet about the #NikeBoycott and #BoycottNike trends quickly went viral.

Nike, a sportswear company, announced recently that it has launched a new advertising campaign to mark 30 years of its famous slogan, Just Do It. Much to everyone's astonishment, the company showcased Colin Kaepernick as the face of the new campaign. Kaepernick is a former football player who was one of the first to kneel during the national anthem before a game to protest police brutality against blacks. His action garnered severe backlash from Conservatives with even US President Donald Trump saying that he should be punished. On the other hand, several other prominent personalities supported him, with many players following his lead and kneeling during the anthem.

Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt https://t.co/SRWkMIDdaO

Nike's decision to feature Kaepernick in its ad — and that too with the caption "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" — has led to Nike users repurposing its other slogan — Just Do It — to urge others to burn their Nike products. The trends #NikeBoycott and #BoycottNike soon took over social media with people posting pictures and videos of them burning their Nike shoes or ripping the iconic logo off their sportswear.

#BoycottNike Fake News Buster: Viral tweet of man setting fire to his shoes while wearing them is actually satire

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One user, Phil Braun, who goes by the handle @playazball on Twitter, shared three photos. The first two show him setting his Nike shoes on fire – while he is still wearing them! The third photo was just an image of two burnt feet. He captioned it with the line, "i am in the hospital".

My name is #Mustard and I stand for the #flag and to honer @bigandrich and their Soundman & the Prresident I am goi… https://t.co/SGDqTaF6lr

Naturally, Twitterati went all out, slamming Phil for being stupid enough to not remove his shoes before he burnt them. However, those who are regular followers of @playazball understood that he is being satirical. Several people who saw his tweet did a reverse image search on Google and spotted that the image of the burnt feet was actually taken from the website of a hospital in Australia.

@playazball @bigandrich This is a parody account. This guy did not actually set his feet on fire. The burn photo is… https://t.co/YpuLfmik5G

While Phil's satirical post may have been taken as truth by many, it does throw light on one important truth – that burning a product you have already bought does no harm to the company. They already have your money, after all.

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